Austin, Texas
Austin Disability Lawyers for SSDI and SSI
Downard & Associates represents adults in Austin, Texas, with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims. We help with applications, reconsideration appeals, and administrative hearings, with client communication by phone or video. If a medical condition has interrupted your ability to work, start by identifying whether you need help applying or responding to a decision. Your treatment history, work history, and any Social Security Administration (SSA) decision will help us discuss the next step.
How we help
How we help Austin adults build and appeal disability claims
We do not take disability cessation or continuing disability review cases, or new cases involving back-pay issues alone.
We help you connect the information SSA asks for with the evidence supporting your claim. Our work can include preparing an application, responding to a denial, and preparing for a hearing before an administrative law judge.
Applications: We help complete the application, gather medical evidence, and document work history so SSA has the information needed to evaluate the claim.
Reconsideration: We review the reasons for a denial, address evidence gaps, and add relevant medical information when asking SSA to review the decision.
Hearings: We prepare you to answer questions about your condition and daily limitations, develop the medical record, and present the legal argument at the hearing.
VA refers to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
We handle SSDI cases for people who currently receive VA benefits, but we do not handle VA claims or appeals. We do not take disability cessation or continuing disability review cases, or new cases involving back-pay issues alone. We refer federal court appeals to a trusted affiliate rather than handling them in-house.
Our Texas disability representation page explains the broader statewide process. You can work with our team from Austin by phone or video.
Benefit eligibility
What do Austin applicants need to qualify for SSDI or SSI?
Duration rule
12months
SSDI generally requires enough recent work in jobs covered by Social Security. The work-credit requirements depend on your age when disability began. SSA also evaluates whether your condition meets its disability standard. Its SSDI eligibility explanation describes these separate work and medical requirements.
SSI has separate financial rules: limited income and resources, along with age 65 or older, statutory blindness, or a qualifying disability, and other eligibility requirements. SSI does not require an insured work record. See SSA’s SSI eligibility rules for the program’s full requirements.
For SSDI and adult SSI claims based on disability, SSA evaluates whether you can perform substantial gainful activity, meaning a significant level of work activity and earnings. When required by its evaluation process, SSA also considers whether you can do past work or adjust to other work. A diagnosis alone does not establish eligibility. The condition must have lasted or be expected to last at least 12 consecutive months, or be expected to result in death. You do not have to wait 12 months before applying.
SSI’s age and statutory-blindness categories are different from disability-based eligibility. SSA does not use substantial gainful activity (SGA) to determine initial SSI eligibility based on statutory blindness, and SSI statutory blindness has no duration requirement. SSI’s financial and other requirements still apply.
Local claim process
Which hearing offices list Austin and South Austin?
That review is a different stage from a hearing before an SSA administrative law judge.
For most new disability claims, an SSA field office checks nonmedical requirements, while the state Disability Determination Services (DDS) develops medical evidence and makes the initial medical determination. That review is a different stage from a hearing before an SSA administrative law judge. Track which agency sent a request and its response instructions, rather than treating every disability letter as a hearing notice.
The SSA hearing-office directory lists the Austin field office under San Antonio and the South Austin field office under Dallas Downtown. These are field-office service-area listings, not a rule that every person with an Austin mailing address has the same hearing-office assignment.
For an appeal, identify the field office handling your claim and compare it with the office named in your SSA correspondence. Follow your own hearing notice for the scheduled location and appearance instructions. An in-person hearing may be held at an SSA hearing office or a permanent remote site; the directory does not establish where your hearing will occur. Our hearing-office guide keeps office information separate from the steps needed to prepare your case.
SSA describes four ways to attend a hearing: in person, audio by telephone, agency video using SSA equipment, and online video using a personal device. Online video requires your agreement. Objections to audio or agency video are subject to SSA’s rules and exceptions. Read the Notice of Ways to Attend a Hearing, its related forms, and your scheduling notice. Phone or video conversations with our team do not determine how SSA schedules the hearing.
Get organized
Prepare an Austin claim file with treatment and work details
If your treatment includes CommUnityCare or Central Health, identify which organization holds each record. CommUnityCare’s patient-record instructions and Central Health’s patient-record instructions explain their respective request processes. List each relevant treatment source rather than assuming one request will cover every provider.
Use one folder or document to keep the following information together. If you are appealing, separate what SSA already considered from treatment or other information added since the decision.
Treatment sources: List every doctor, clinic, hospital, and other medical source, with contact details and treatment dates. Add medication names, tests, and where those tests were performed.
Work and limitations: Record jobs, employment dates, and actual duties. Describe specific effects on tasks such as standing, lifting, remembering instructions, or maintaining a work schedule.
Agency correspondence: Keep each complete decision or request, when it arrived, who sent it, and the response instructions. For hearing correspondence, record the named office and appearance details rather than assuming either from the city name.
SSI information: Gather income and resource information as well as medical records. SSI’s financial review is separate from the medical question.
Start with information you have. SSA’s application guidance says not to delay applying simply because you do not yet have every requested document.
After a denial
After an Austin denial, review the decision stage and receipt date
Deadline
60days
For SSDI and SSI, an initial determination generally can be challenged through reconsideration; an unfavorable reconsideration determination can lead to a request for an administrative law judge hearing. Requests at these stages generally must be filed within 60 days after receipt of the relevant notice. SSA ordinarily presumes receipt five days after the notice date unless you show later receipt. This is not an automatic 65-day deadline from the letter date.
If a request may be late, you can ask SSA in writing for more time and explain why. An extension depends on good cause. SSA’s reconsideration rules for SSDI and SSI explain the filing period and written extension request. Review the actual decision before calculating a deadline or choosing the next appeal.
Common questions
Questions Austin adults ask about disability claims
Can I apply if I have little or no recent work history?
SSI does not require an insured work record. You may qualify if you meet its income, resource, and other requirements and are age 65 or older, statutorily blind, or have a qualifying disability. SSDI generally requires enough recent covered work, with work-credit requirements tied to your age when disability began. Limited work history alone does not establish SSI eligibility.
Do I have to collect every medical record before applying?
No. SSA says not to delay an application because requested documents are missing. Provide the medical-source details and other information you have so the evidence can be developed. A complete provider list is useful even when you do not yet have copies of all the records.
Does the Dallas Downtown listing mean I must travel to Dallas?
The directory listing alone does not determine travel. South Austin appears under Dallas Downtown, while Austin appears under San Antonio. Your scheduling notice gives the instructions for your actual hearing. Do not book travel based only on a field-office listing.
Can I work with Downard from Austin?
Yes. We represent adults in Austin with SSDI and SSI matters and communicate with clients by phone or video. The firm is based in Tennessee. Your conversations with us and SSA’s hearing appearance arrangements are separate.
Discuss your claim
Discuss your Austin SSDI or SSI claim with our team
Tell us whether you are applying, seeking reconsideration, or preparing for a hearing. We can discuss representation and the information needed for the next step.